Not to be too pedantic but groking is to fully and completely understand a concept. It's emotionally and intuitively plus logically and factually and more.
Trying to grok something is really working to understand it completely.
I thought I ask GPT-4 (How many of 6 reasons resonate with you?)
The perception of certain words as profane while others with the same meaning are considered acceptable is a complex cultural phenomenon that involves history, societal attitudes, and the evolution of language. Here are several reasons why this dichotomy exists:
1. **Historical Context**: Many profane words have historical contexts that lend them a negative connotation. For example, some English swear words are derived from Old English or other Germanic languages and were associated with the lower classes, becoming taboo as a result of class prejudice.
2. **Cultural Sensitivity**: Words that are considered profane often touch on topics that are sensitive in a given culture, such as sexuality, religion, or bodily functions. Words that describe the same things without using profanity do so in a way that is considered socially or culturally acceptable.
3. **Connotation and Intensity**: Profane words often carry a stronger connotation or emotional intensity. They may be used to express anger, frustration, or insult, whereas their non-profane synonyms might be neutral or clinical in tone.
4. **Taboo and Power**: Profanity often derives its power from being taboo. By restricting certain words, a society gives them a power that their synonyms do not have. Breaking a taboo can be a form of rebellion or a way to shock or emphasize.
5. **Social Norms and Etiquette**: Over time, societies develop norms and etiquette around language. Words once considered acceptable may become profane and vice versa as these norms evolve.
6. **Euphemism Treadmill**: This is the process where words that are not initially offensive can become so over time. As the offensive words are avoided, their euphemisms can become tainted by association and eventually take on the profanity of the original words, leading to the creation of new euphemisms.
One of the first things I ever bought at a sci-fi convention (back in the late 1980s when I was a young teenager) was a button that said "I grok Spock." I bought this long before I ever fully grok'd what grok meant. :D
(I wonder if I still have that button someplace...)
Let me know if you find it! I was memory-laning myself the other day, and I found a huge oversized Simpsons button from around the time when the show debuted.
haha fun! Yeah, 6 months from now I'm sure I'll be cleaning something out and find it. I don't have a lot of those things from my childhood... but I did manage to save my old Infocom games, complete with 5.25in floppy disks! lol
Oh wow. I have an old Superman CD Rom from the 90s I never opened, but nothing from the older era. I remember using cassettes to load computer programs. I'm pretty sure those are long gone.
A flashback to '84 is the closest this one comes to sci-fi, but 'Farging Icehole' and 'Farging Bastages' from Johnny Dangerously (great cast) are still in my vocabulary today.
Does it have to be a four-letter word, like "fout"? Or can it be longer, like "foulsmellinggasfromyourbutt"? Oh wait, I'm over 40 years old, I should probably have better, more mature things to do.
Thanks for the shout-out! I really appreciate it especially since all I ever contribute are Power-Ranger & Star Wars essays, that cannot compare with the contributions of those such as yourself or those you mentioned at the end of your article.
And I never thought about the expansion of vocabulary via Sci-Fi, but that is fascinant, I like that you dove into linguistics and how it affects world-building.
You contribute plenty! I don't have the bandwidth to explore every topic I want to (only so many hours in a day), so it's great to see other folks writing about stuff I want to say/think about. The bigger thing is, I think, that we're all helping each other out, and I appreciate you!
Not to be too pedantic but groking is to fully and completely understand a concept. It's emotionally and intuitively plus logically and factually and more.
Trying to grok something is really working to understand it completely.
Thanks, Michael! Definitely not too pedantic, and your nerd-card holder status is safe. :)
Whew!
I thought I ask GPT-4 (How many of 6 reasons resonate with you?)
The perception of certain words as profane while others with the same meaning are considered acceptable is a complex cultural phenomenon that involves history, societal attitudes, and the evolution of language. Here are several reasons why this dichotomy exists:
1. **Historical Context**: Many profane words have historical contexts that lend them a negative connotation. For example, some English swear words are derived from Old English or other Germanic languages and were associated with the lower classes, becoming taboo as a result of class prejudice.
2. **Cultural Sensitivity**: Words that are considered profane often touch on topics that are sensitive in a given culture, such as sexuality, religion, or bodily functions. Words that describe the same things without using profanity do so in a way that is considered socially or culturally acceptable.
3. **Connotation and Intensity**: Profane words often carry a stronger connotation or emotional intensity. They may be used to express anger, frustration, or insult, whereas their non-profane synonyms might be neutral or clinical in tone.
4. **Taboo and Power**: Profanity often derives its power from being taboo. By restricting certain words, a society gives them a power that their synonyms do not have. Breaking a taboo can be a form of rebellion or a way to shock or emphasize.
5. **Social Norms and Etiquette**: Over time, societies develop norms and etiquette around language. Words once considered acceptable may become profane and vice versa as these norms evolve.
6. **Euphemism Treadmill**: This is the process where words that are not initially offensive can become so over time. As the offensive words are avoided, their euphemisms can become tainted by association and eventually take on the profanity of the original words, leading to the creation of new euphemisms.
I use 'shipload' often, like in «got a shipload of work to do». It's in the ear of the hearkener what they want to hear.
Also 'southpole', like in «they're just covering their southpoles».
Nice! I hadn't hear the "southpole" one.
One of the first things I ever bought at a sci-fi convention (back in the late 1980s when I was a young teenager) was a button that said "I grok Spock." I bought this long before I ever fully grok'd what grok meant. :D
(I wonder if I still have that button someplace...)
Let me know if you find it! I was memory-laning myself the other day, and I found a huge oversized Simpsons button from around the time when the show debuted.
I looked and looked... I can't find it.... :( (I coulda sworn I had a small bag of pins from those days in my house somewhere and I can't find it...)
Dang, lost to the dustbin of memory. I am sure I have misplaced some objects I'd find incredibly valuable today.
I did find a few MUSCLE figures from the late 80s in my old drawer in my garage!
haha fun! Yeah, 6 months from now I'm sure I'll be cleaning something out and find it. I don't have a lot of those things from my childhood... but I did manage to save my old Infocom games, complete with 5.25in floppy disks! lol
Oh wow. I have an old Superman CD Rom from the 90s I never opened, but nothing from the older era. I remember using cassettes to load computer programs. I'm pretty sure those are long gone.
You're awesome Goatfury! Another great analysis.
A flashback to '84 is the closest this one comes to sci-fi, but 'Farging Icehole' and 'Farging Bastages' from Johnny Dangerously (great cast) are still in my vocabulary today.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism
Farging is a good one!
Frack is literally my go-to for safe-for-work fury
It's delightful!
Lol. Dig the young goat's 80s get up.
I had some fun with that one.
Four-letter word that starts with "f"? So now we can't even say "fart" without it being censored?! What a fucking joke!
My wide is from Prague, so I'm aware of the origin of "robot," but many others were new to me. That was fun!
Let's come up with another word for "fart."
It should probably begin with F and end in T, but beyond that, I don't have any farting ideas.
Does it have to be a four-letter word, like "fout"? Or can it be longer, like "foulsmellinggasfromyourbutt"? Oh wait, I'm over 40 years old, I should probably have better, more mature things to do.
I do think it has to be four letters. I, too, am a "grown up" by most measures.
I wasn't allowed to say fart as a kid. That was a bad word.
That's fart up!
I think I also was not allowed to say fart! "Damn" and "hell" were bad words, too (although not AS bad).
All of those would have earned me a whippin'
I think I might get a few butt smacks for "shit", but if I happened to escalate from there, the belt was coming out.
Thanks for the shout-out! I really appreciate it especially since all I ever contribute are Power-Ranger & Star Wars essays, that cannot compare with the contributions of those such as yourself or those you mentioned at the end of your article.
And I never thought about the expansion of vocabulary via Sci-Fi, but that is fascinant, I like that you dove into linguistics and how it affects world-building.
You contribute plenty! I don't have the bandwidth to explore every topic I want to (only so many hours in a day), so it's great to see other folks writing about stuff I want to say/think about. The bigger thing is, I think, that we're all helping each other out, and I appreciate you!
Thanks so much good sir, and I only wish I could help more, but yeah I do understand the whole thing with bandwith it is the same avec moi.
We're doin' what we can, and it is a lot! Thank you for being a part of this weird little community.
Don't you mean wyrd ;) and it is mon plaisir